Show Racism the Red Card has capitulated to demands it drop Ken Loach as a judge in its schools competition, after an Israel lobby intimidation campaign said to have threatened its “very existence.”

However the charity, which works against racism in football, emphasized that Loach remains “a member of our Hall of Fame, in tribute to the work he has done over many years in combating racism and his support is greatly appreciated.”

Earlier this month the charity announced that it was standing by its appointment of the socialist filmmaker as a judge of their annual schools competition, alongside children’s poet and author Michael Rosen.

But in a new statement on Wednesday, the charity said that they and Loach “have together agreed that Ken will not act as a judge” for this year’s competition.

This series provides astounding insight into the breadth and depth of the Israel Lobby's organizational efforts and its connection to the government of Israel. It offers a startling perspective on the campaigns waged against Palestinian solidarity campaigns on campuses in North America.

On November 20th, a large number of York students and community members staged a protest against a talk by reservists from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). The vast majority of the talk’s attendees were outsiders, many of whom had come specifically in the hopes of attacking Palestinian student activists and their allies. While York Security stood by and refused to act, these outsiders assaulted peaceful protesters. One of our members was brought to the hospital after a punch to the back of the head. He was peacefully documenting the protest. These violent outsiders spat at, shoved, and threatened counter-protesters, attempted to steal their phones, attacked marshals who were trying to keep the peace, and stole Palestinian flags so that they could beat counter-protesters with the flagpoles.

A new Canada-wide program is aiming to turn university students into leaders and defenders of Israel on campus.

The Israel Ambassador Program, established by the Canadian Network for Israel Affairs (CNIA), offers a select group of students leadership training, networking opportunities and conference calls with Israeli politicians and heads of Israeli and Palestinian organizations.

Uri Avnery7.6.08

AFTER MONTHS of a tough and bitter race, a merciless struggle, Barack Obama has defeated his formidable opponent, Hillary Clinton. He has wrought a miracle: for the first time in history a black person has become a credible candidate for the presidency of the most powerful country in the world.

And what was the first thing he did after his astounding victory? He ran to the conference of the Israel lobby, AIPAC, and made a speech that broke all records for obsequiousness and fawning.

That is shocking enough. Even more shocking is the fact that nobody was shocked.

Judge blaming Rachel Corrie for her own death highlights Israel’s impunity, family says

The Haifa District court ruled earlier today that the Israeli military is not responsible for killing American activist Rachel Corrie, and that Corrie was to blame for her own death.

“Even when she saw the mount of earth moving towards her, she did not move away. The accident was caused by the deceased,” said Israeli Judge Oded Gershon, as he read out a summary of the 62-page ruling in front of a packed courthouse and with Rachel’s mother Cindy, father Craig and sister Sarah sitting in the front row.